Oberlin College Community Connections
This collection holds items that exhibit the ways that Oberlin students, faculty, staff, and alumni maintain connections to the Oberlin community while staying home and taking classes remotely. The items displayed here highlight the support and care within the Oberlin community as students and staff discover and create new ways to maintain community support from afar.
As a current Oberlin student, Oberlin College and the community is a significant foundation of who I have become today. Being suddenly uplifted from a community that informs so much of who I am and who I want to be is incredibly difficult. Education at Oberlin College is not just about what you learn. It's about how you learn and who you learn from. It is only possible to be genuinely supported, connected, and cared for when we are in a physical space that allows us to relate to those around us through our learning, values, and similar interests. Considering the importance of the Oberlin community to the well-being and support of the students, faculty, staff, and alumni, I believed it was essential to document how we as an Oberlin community can maintain our community care and support for one another remotely.
I was pleasantly surprised by the commitment and dedication of all Obies within our community to bridge the distance and maintain community connections through support and care online. The college established a program/department through the Dean of Students entitled Remote Student Engagement and Activities to encourage and preserve community connections and support remotely via zoom. Additionally, various college and student organizations spread positivity, care tips, and support to other Obies in the form of social media posts or zoom hangouts. Furthermore, Oberlin students developed their own way to sustain community and support during this time online, such as an Oberlin edition of Love Is Blind. Overall, this experience has affirmed my faith and hope in the Oberlin community to continue to support one another through the community during uncertain and chaotic times.